- Tuesday, March 04, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday (3) used cricket analogies to describe New Delhi’s foreign policy under “captain” Narendra Modi and how the government functions.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, a flagship think-tank event organised by the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with India’s ministry of external affairs in New Delhi, he also made a reference to blockbuster Telugu film ‘RRR’ to explain relations between India and the UK.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair and former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen also shared the stage with the Indian diplomat.
“With Captain (PM) Modi the net practice starts 6 in the morning and goes on till fairly late,” Jaishankar said when asked to explain the functioning of the Indian government.
He added that if a captain has a bowler who can perform, he will give him the ball.
Borrowing cricket’s language, Jaishankar said the prime minister expects one to take a wicket if he gives him/her the chance to do it. He also conceded that some of the decisions taken by the government were difficult and cited the example of the lockdown which was taken when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
“If we now look back, what would have happened if we had not taken that decision?” Jaishankar asked.
Speaking about the growing interest in New Delhi’s foreign policy, the top diplomat again used the language of cricket.
While he said the world is in a difficult place and more people are getting interested in the world, globalisation of India has been another reason.
“Like a cricket team, we don’t want to win matches only at home but abroad as well,” he said.
Jaishankar then spoke about India’s relations with the UK in the context of ‘RRR’. He said the film has to do with the British era.
